Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

EVENTS

Sheldon Adelson Gets SLAPPed Down

Remember Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who spent some $150 million trying to get Republicans, particularly Newt Gingrich, elected in 2012? He just lost a defamation lawsuit he filed against a Democratic group and was ordered to pay their legal fees too.

A federal judge dismissed billionairecasino mogul Sheldon Adelson’s lawsuit against the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC). Finding that Adelson’s complaint violated a Nevada law against court cases intended to stifle free speech, the judge also ordered Adelson to pay the NJDC’s legal fees.

Adelson, who serves on the board of the Republican Jewish Coalition, filed a $60 million federal libel suit last year, claiming the NJDC defamed his character by repeating news reports about allegations that he personally approved and profited from prostitution at his Macau casino. Adelson claimed NJDC had “crossed the threshold from constitutionally protected speech to defamation of a public figure,” by repeating these allegations.

The NJDC refused to back down and told the court it was a “strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP),” aimed at silencing its free speech rights through intimidation. Because federal district judge J. Paul Oetken found NJDC was engaging in protected political speech (under the doctrine of “fair report privilege”) and agreed the case violated a state ban on SLAPP cases, he ordered Adelson to pay the NJDC’s attorney’s fees for the case.

SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, a lawsuit that is intended to intimidate one’s political opponents into silence. Many states have strong statutes prohibiting them and if a judge determined that a lawsuit was filed for that purpose, they can dismiss the case and force the plaintiff to pay the defendant’s legal fees, as happened in this case.

This is the U.S., not the U.K. IANAL, but I’m pretty sure that someone accused of defamation under U.S. law does not have to prove that the alleged defamatory claim is true, but only that the claim was not made while knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for whether or not it was true. Since Sheldon Adelson’s lawyers certainly knew that the NJDC was just repeating widely published reports from plausible mainstream journalism, not deliberate falsehoods or random rumors, Adelson’s lawsuit was definitely intended to intimidate and punish them. I’m glad the judge had the good sense to SLAPP Adelson down for it.

Demo – IADNALOESWIPCWUSL(EIAUIMOOMOTTBIAFPCWH)[ST!}*
But even if Mr Adelson has been running a prostitution racket from his Macau casino interests, this case doesn’t (and won’t) affect his US casino license since it wasn’t about that at all. It was about could a newspaper publish these allegations under the doctrine of ‘fair report privilege’ or could Mr Adelson prevent them by claiming it amounted to defamation.
The Judges thought the former.
Dingo
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* I am definitely not a lawyer or even someone who is particularly conversant with United States law (even I am uninterested in my own opinion most of the time because I am frequently proven completely wrong-headed) [so there!]

And by what standard is Sheldon Adelson a public figure? I’m sure I never heard his name before this year, in connection with those massive political donations.

What billionaire is not a public figure – especially one who is so generous with his money and opinions? Adelson is well known for the contributions and bribes he disburses to a large number of shady causes: Gingrich and then Romney, Chinese politicians that gave him the OK for his casino in Macao which multiplied his fortune, Israeli right win politicians, AIPAC [lobby for right wing Israelis in Washington], anti-union causes and a few actual charities. All-in-all one of the world’s top 10 scumbags.